This invention relates to machine-readable optical discs of all types, including for example digital discs such as compact discs (CD's), digital video discs (DVD's), CDROM's, and the like.
Conventional optical discs have reached widespread acceptance as a low-cost, reliable storage medium for digital information including music, video, and data. One of the traditional advantages of optical discs as their long life.
However, in some applications, the long life of the conventional optical disc may represent a disadvantage. For example, if music, movies or software is to be made available for a limited time period, as in the rental, period for entertainment, the original optical disc must be returned at the end of the rental period.
A need presently exists for an improved machine-readable optical disc that eliminates the need for the return of an optical disc at the end of a rental period.